


Forbidden Commoner Words

by VonVarleys



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Brigid (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), Gen, Imperialism, Mentioned Caspar von Bergliez, Mentioned Caspar von Bergliez's father, Mentioned Edelgard von Hresvelg, Mentioned Ferdinand von Aegir, Mentioned Hubert von Vestra, Nobles and commoners, Recruited Petra Macneary, Swearing, language learning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-11
Updated: 2020-09-11
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:41:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26414323
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VonVarleys/pseuds/VonVarleys
Summary: When Petra overhears Ferdinand mention "words a noble ought not to know," she seeks more information from a commoner friend. Ashe tells her all about this type of Fódlanic word, and Petra finds a way to use them to express herself.
Relationships: Ashe Duran | Ashe Ubert &; Petra Macneary
Comments: 8
Kudos: 28





	Forbidden Commoner Words

**Author's Note:**

> I have a lot of headcanons about the Fódlanic language. The curse words Ashe teaches Petra in this fic aren't the same words used in Fódlanic, but are just English translations of Fódlanic curses. 
> 
> In this fic, Petra has been recruited to the Blue Lions, rather than Ashe being recruited to the Black Eagles.

After much searching, Petra MacNeary found him sitting outside the greenhouse. Ashe noticed her around the same time she spotted him, and gave her a friendly wave. 

Petra strode over. “Ashe, I have been looking for you. I need your help.”

“Oh, hi Petra! Sure, what’s going on?” Ashe asked. He scooted over on the bench to make room for her to sit down. 

Petra sat down beside him. “You have my gratitude. I have overheard Ferdinand talking to Caspar. He said something about ‘words a noble ought not to know.’ I want you to tell me: what are these forbidden commoner words?” 

“Oh, he probably meant curse words,” said Ashe. “Brigid has them too, right? Words you just aren’t supposed to say.” 

“We have curses, yes,” said Petra. “They should not be spoken lightly. But here in Fódlan, nobles such as Hubert will curse people too. And I doubt that Caspar knows any curses.” 

“Oh, ‘curse words’ in Fódlanic just means words you aren’t supposed to say. A lot of people think they’re offensive, and if you say them to the wrong person, you could start a fight. It won’t actually curse someone,” Ashe explained. “Nobles look down on people who use those words.”

Petra nodded. “We have words like that in Brigid. We call them ‘fighting words.’ When I was in Brigid, I never had a reason to be saying them. But here in Fódlan, I have a reason to want to learn.” 

“Do you have someone you want to fight? Do you want me to help?” Ashe asked. 

“No,” Petra lied. The way she felt was too complicated to explain on such short notice, in a language she was not yet entirely familiar with. “I simply want to know all about the language of Fódlan.” Best to keep her options open. 

“Ok then,” said Ashe. “Let’s see.” He thought back to what he remembered from growing up in Gaspard Village. Half whispering, he continued. “There’s ‘shit.’ That’s when something isn’t good. You can say ‘oh shit” if you fall and hurt yourself. But don’t say that here at the academy, because then you’ll get into trouble. Also if something is of poor quality, you can call it shit. Like a bow that breaks easily is a ‘shit bow.’” 

“So ‘shit’ is the same as ‘bad,’ but it’s a fighting word, so I shouldn’t say it?” Petra asked. 

“Yes. You can also use it instead of ‘things’, if the things you’re talking about are bad. If you’ve had a day where a lot of really annoying things happened, you could say ‘a lot of shit happened today.’” 

“If someone does a bad thing, could you say the thing they did was ‘shit’?” asked Petra. 

“Hm, I suppose so,” Ashe said. “You could call it a ‘shit thing to do’ or a ‘shit decision.’ You could also call them a ‘shithead’ if you wanted to make them angry.” 

“‘Shithead’ like a head that is shit,” said Petra. 

“I never thought about it that way, but you’re right.” Ashe smiled. 

Petra nodded. “‘Shithead.’ I will have to remember that.” 

“If you really want to insult someone, you can call them a ‘fucker’ or a ‘motherfucker’ or an ‘asshole.’ Please don’t call anyone at the academy that though!” Ashe added as an afterthought. 

“You said three words. What is the difference?”

Ashe thought. “Well, the word ‘fuck’ is like the word ‘shit’ but more extreme. Except you can’t use it to describe things. What I mean is you can say ‘oh fuck!’ if you get hurt, but you can’t say ‘a fuck bow.’ Instead you’d have to say ‘a fucking shit bow’ where ‘fucking’ means the same thing as ‘very.’ Sorry if this is confusing.” 

“It is very strange,” said Petra. “‘Fucking shit’ means ‘very bad’ but ‘oh fuck’ means ‘oh bad!’?” 

“Yes. Also if something is very bad and very wrong, you can say it’s ‘fucked up.’ Being wrongly accused of a crime is ‘fucked up.’” 

“And someone who wrongly accuses someone of a crime is a ‘shithead.’” Petra’s face was serious. 

“Yes. Or a ‘fucker’ or a ‘motherfucker.’ Or an asshole, but ‘asshole’ is more for small things. For example if someone stole your food, you could say they were an asshole.” Ashe was remembering now, getting in the swing of things. It had been so long since it had even occurred to him to call anyone one of these words, but now that he was thinking of it, examples kept popping up in his mind. 

“What is the difference between a ‘fucker’ and a ‘motherfucker’?” asked Petra. 

Ashe gave it his best shot. “A ‘fucker’ is just a bad person, but when you call someone a ‘motherfucker’ you bring their mother into it, so it’s worse to be a ‘motherfucker’ than a ‘fucker.’”

“In Brigid, many of our fighting words are about mothers,” Petra said. 

“It’s the same in Fódlan. It’s not good to insult someone’s mother, no matter where you are.” 

Petra nodded. “I agree. And in Fódlan, only commoners may say ‘shit’ or ‘shithead’ or ‘fuck’ or ‘asshole’ or ‘fucked up’ or ‘motherfucker’? That is different from in Brigid. Anyone who fights in Brigid has permission to say fighting words.” 

“Well, it’s not so much that nobles aren’t allowed to say them as that nobles look down on people who do. It’s seen as rude or improper. A lot of things commoners say are seen that way. When I moved in with Lord Lonato, I had to learn a whole new way of speaking. It wasn’t just not saying curse words, but not saying ordinary words I used every day with my siblings. And then again when I came to the academy, I still sounded different from the nobles in the Blue Lions, because they’re all from East and North Faerghus and I’m from West Faerghus. But really I think it’s silly to judge people for the words they use. As long as a person is kind and honest, that’s what I think is important. I’m sorry for rambling,” Ashe added.

“Since coming to the empire, and then coming to the academy, I have learned much about nobles of Fódlan. They often judge people for how they speak, or what country they come from, or being a commoner. I do not like this way of judging,” said Petra. She wasn’t sure of the Fódlanic word for how it made her feel, so saying that she didn’t like it would have to suffice.

“Exactly,” said Ashe. “Where someone was born, or what position their parents held, or how they speak doesn’t tell you anything about what’s inside their heart.” 

Petra shook her head. “It tells you how they have struggled and what they have learned. It tells you if they have strength to overcome. To be at the academy when you are different, if you are a commoner or not of Fódlan says you have great strength and much knowledge. This is why I came to you. You know things that the nobles here do not.” 

“Wow, thanks Petra. You really put that well,” said Ashe. “I like to think it makes no difference, but I guess you’re right. That’s why we can be friends; we have things in common.” 

“Yes. And you teach me much about the ways of commoners. Thank you for teaching me the commoner fighting words,” said Petra. 

* * *

Late that night, Petra reached between the pelts she had stacked in her room and pulled out a thin green-covered notebook. It had been a gift from Duke Gerth when she came to study at the academy, but it served a different purpose from the one intended for it. It was her diary. To keep it secret, Petra hid it between pelts, but she also wrote in Brigidian, so that even if it were to be discovered, no one in Fódlan could read what she wrote. Sitting herself down at her desk, Petra picked up a pen and began to write, in a mixture of the Fódlanic and Brigidian alphabets. 

> “Today I spoke with my friend _Ashe_. I asked him about Fódlanic fighting words, and he taught me several. _Shit, shithead, asshole, fuck, fucker, motherfucker_. He taught me how to use each of them but also told me not to say them aloud at the academy, so I will use them here. The Adrestian Empire is _shit_. The treaty that holds Brigid as a colony is _fucked up_. Being a hostage to the Empire is a _fucked up_ position. When Edelgard looks down on me, she is a _shithead_. When Hubert compares me unfavorably to Edelgard, he is a _fucking_ _asshole_. Count von Bergliez is a _motherfucker_ , and if I could ensure that I would not lose the ensuing duel, I would want to call him that to his face. I want to become strong enough that I could say this all aloud to the Empire, that I could start a fight and win. Someday, I will have that power. For now it is enough to study with the Blue Lions, to get away from the Adrestian nobles, but mark my words that one day, I will put those _motherfuckers_ in their place.”

  
  



End file.
